Thursday, July 14, 2011

Ok, not really. I just ate one bite of spring roll made with egg roll wrapper and some pad thai that had soy sauce in it. Who makes spring rolls with egg roll wrapper!?

It isn't rare for me to have a "gluten belly" after risky dining but today's is pretty extreme. I sometimes joke that I look 3 months pregnant when I eat gluten so I took some pregnant belly shots! I was so uncomfortable that I changed into pajama pants right after the pictures. When I first started getting gluten bellies I often noticed them only because my shirt and pants would get tight to the point that my shirt would ride up. I started measureing before and after I ate and compared gluten and non-gluten bellies. I measure right below my belly button and it's usually 28 inches and puffs up to 30 after I eat gluten. This time, I only recently started measuring again, it's 31 inches! I've never seen the lines on the sides that are in the first picture. That makes me look even more pregnant!

Speaking of pregnancy and gluten, Celiac Disease can cause infertility. It has been found to be (at least part of) the cause in 3% of women with unexplained infertility (explained infertility would be things like PCOS, endometriosis, tubal blockages). It seems to be caused by the abnormal amount of swelling associated with Celiac Disease. It would also make sense that the nutritional deficiencies and weight changes are also part of the problem. I think I read this on the University of Chicago Celiac Disease site. I also read that they are pushing for Celiac Disease screening to become part of routine infertility treatment. Now if only those blood tests were more accurate...